Three's a Crowd

Chapter 3

Adrian clearly hadn't expected me to stand up to him. In his mind, Ivy Walker was a mirror that never reflected anything back. Whatever emotion he threw at me, I simply absorbed it.

He stood and came over to me.

He was a head taller than I was, and his shadow engulfed me.

He reached for my wrist as he always did, but I quickly moved out of his reach.

His eyes went completely cold.

"Ivy, don't push me. You know perfectly well that without my help back then, you wouldn't have received a cent from the Walker family trust."

"I know." I lifted my head and met his icy gaze without flinching. "That's why I spent 4 years thanking you.

"But I've repaid that debt now."

I picked up my coat and handbag, turned, and headed for the door.

"Where are you going?!" Adrian shouted behind me.

Without looking back, I opened the front door.

The early-winter wind swept into the foyer, clearing the suffocating rose perfume.

I went down the steps, took out my phone, and replied to Professor Klaus's email:

Ivy: I accept the transfer. I'll be in Lindenstadt on time next Monday.

After leaving the house, I went straight to the OB-GYN department at Fairhaven General Hospital.

The corridor smelled of disinfectant. Young couples sat close together, the husbands carefully shielding their wives' bellies, their eyes full of nervous joy.

I sat alone on a bench, clutching my check-in slip.

"Ms. Ivy Walker?" the nurse called from the doorway.

I stood and went inside.

The doctor, a kind middle-aged woman, looked through my chart.

"The embryo is developing well. You're 6 weeks along. But you're a little anemic, Ms. Walker, and your progesterone is low. You need to rest and avoid severe emotional stress."

She adjusted her glasses and glanced toward the door in puzzlement. "Is your husband still not here? The intake paperwork requires your spouse's signature."

"He's busy at work. He couldn't come," I replied calmly.

The doctor paused, her hand still holding my chart in midair.

"All right. Your earlier examination showed that your uterine lining is thin. You may not be able to carry this pregnancy. You need to prepare yourself for that possibility."

A sharp pain pierced my chest. 'Baby, is that why you don't want to come to Mommy? Do you know your father doesn't want you, that you'd be born into another woman's shadow?'

When I stepped out of the hospital, the sky was so dark it looked ready to snow.

My phone kept vibrating in my pocket.

I took it out and saw messages in the family group chat.

My mother had sent nine photos, all of Sylvia having afternoon tea in the sitting room of the family estate, surrounded by Reed relatives.

My mother had added a caption:

Our eldest daughter is finally home. Family dinner at the estate tonight. Everyone needs to be there.

Adrian's reply came right after it:

Adrian: Sylvia and I are already on our way.

No one mentioned me.

As though the woman who'd spent 4 years living as Mrs. Reed had never existed.

Then a private message from Adrian popped up:

Adrian: Dinner at the family estate tonight. Go straight there. Wear that royal-blue dress, and don't be late. Mother hates being kept waiting.

The royal-blue dress.

Sylvia's favorite color.

Whenever we went to the family estate, Adrian insisted I wear royal blue and a delicate pearl necklace.

I'd naively thought he liked that elegant, dignified look. Only today did I fully understand: he wanted his ailing mother to mistake me for Sylvia.

I closed the chat without replying.

At 6 p.m., I drove to the Walker family estate.

I pushed open the banquet room's heavy wooden doors. Warmth, laughter, and lively conversation spilled out.

Sylvia sat on the sofa at the head of the room, holding champagne and animatedly describing her life among the galleries in Valenne.

Adrian sat in an armchair beside her, a glass of red wine in his hand. He barely took his eyes off her face.

In 4 years, he'd never looked at me with that kind of intense, burning focus.

"Oh, Ivy's here." My mother noticed me first, her smile fading a little. "Why did you come empty-handed? Your sister brought everyone all those expensive perfumes and silk scarves from Valenne. You've only grown more petty since getting married."

I took off my coat, revealing a simple black cashmere turtleneck and slim pants.

No royal-blue dress. No pearl necklace.

Adrian's gaze swept over my clothes, and his brows immediately drew together.